METTL16 has recently been identified as an RNA methyltransferase that installs m6A marks on a few transcripts. But its function in cytosol remains unclear. Puromycin-labelling and renilla luciferase assay revealed that METTL16 can promote translation efficiency in an m6A-independent manner. To explore the mechanism, we performed co-immunoprecipitation using METTL16 antibody and mass spectroscopy to identify its interaction proteins. Moreover, we find that METTL16 is essential for tumorigenesis of non-small cell lung cancer.